World War One Remembered from Westminster Abbey

are commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

just joined us, you're warmly welcome. We are talking about what

happened a century ago, because in an hour's time, the people of the

United Kingdom will come together to reflect on the immense sacrifice of

the generation of the First World War, the Great War, as it's still

known in many parts. Candles will be lit in homes all over the country.

In Burnley, for example, people will be gathering around the war memorial

there and from the Houses of Parliament here at Westminster, to

the great iconic structure of Blackpool tower, the lights will go

out in a powerful, symbolic act. Here at Westminster Abbey, special

candle-lit service attended by the Duchess of Cornwall. We're looking

forward to it, watching events in the abbey is my colleague, Eddie

Butler. It will be a solemn commemoration,

it's in the content, the poems, letters, prayers, the extracts from

books. There will be anticipation, but more sorrow, frustration and

bitterness. There will be hauntingly sad music, a deepening darkness and

silence. The sense of trepidation will be enhanced by movement towards

one place in the Abbey, the grave of tonight's central character, who had

not yet fought, had not yet died, but here he is, an unidentified

British soldier, honoured among kings, the symbol of sacrifice to

come. There's also the theme of vigil, of being awake in the night,

a time for calm and reflection, but also of determination. Whatever the

arguments have been for or against the war, now there was this

determination to stand together, not to flea from what -- flee from what

darkness might bring. But darkness there would be and darkness there

will be tonight, a reference to the words of Sir Edward Grey, the then

Foreign Secretary, who says, "The lamps are going out all over Europe.

We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." On that note, there

is a twist in the tale. But first, now in the north trancept, Sian.

As people start taking their seats here and the congregation prepare to

pick up their candles for the service, I'm joined here by James,

who has been an Abbey volunteer and was also here and sang in the

coronation and the actor and writer Mark Gaitiss as well. Mark, what are

you doing? I'm reading a poem called The Messages, as part of the

ceremony tonight. What's the significance this afternoon poem for

you? It's the first recorded poem about shell shock. Gibson actually

didn't serve abroad for quite a long time because he tried four times,

but I think his eye sight was too bad. It's a very moving, sad poem.

I'm here really to represent my grandfather, who was at the Somme

and happily survived. I just want to acknowledge the amazing sacrifice

that they all made for us. And the war has been so much debated of

late, about its actual merits and we grew up with the idea that it was a

complete waste of time. Whatever side you come down on, it's very

important to acknowledge the sacrifice everyone made. James, you

have a personal connection as well, don't you? My grandfather was killed

at Passchendaele in This is 1917. Him, Edward. Yes. He's got a

memorial, but he has no known grave. We do have a letter from him, the

last letter he wrote. Oh, yes. He's talking about not getting any

letters. Yes. "I wrote to dad on 24th of September and have not had a

reply to it. I've written at least two since. It's rotten to be treated

like this, especially when one gets nervy." The little mouse, he talks

about a mouse running around his feet, while he's writing as well. It

seems so human, doesn't it? When you think of the horror of what he was

facing to be writing things like this. "We have a fairly dry dugout,

but HQ took a fancy to it. I have to go. Still, this will do for tonight.

After that, we'll be luck dwroi get a nice, dry shell house. The mouse

has just bolted. He was a fat little chap." That, to me, is just, it hits

me absolutely to think that in all that carnage, you can worry about a

dear little mouse. Yes, and he died fairly soon after writing Four days

that. After that. He was killed and they never found his body. Well, the

mud was so horrendous any way. It's just the thought that people could

go through that, in those days, it's unbelievable. What does it mean,

then for you to be here? You know the Abbey so well, but to be here

and thinking about him and all the others who lost their lives?

Absolutely, this is the whole thing about this whole atmosphere here.

It's a church. It's not just a memorial place. It is a living,

breathing memorial. Tonight, as the candles go out, I think that will

probably finish me. James, thank you. And you too. That is going to

be the key moment, of course, the Grave of the Unknown Warrior...

Those of you wondering where Her Majesty the Queen has been today,

because we've seen the Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of

Cambridge, Prince Harry, well the Queen is spending her traditional

summer break at Balmoral. She was attending a private commemoration

today for the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War,

private service, this is at Crathie Kirk, the local church for mall

moral. Her Majesty was attending a private service there today in

contrast to the big, public, official events that we've seen. So,

that's where the Queen was earlier. Here we are at Westminster Abbey.

Shirley Williams still with me. David Olusoga too, the historian and

broadcaster and historian, Margaret MacMillan as well. Thank you for

staying with us. We are looking forward to the service. You were

discussing your mother, Vera, earlier, I was reading a couple of

the notes again about the history that she'd lost a fiance, which we

mentioned earlier, Ay brother. Her -- a brother. Her only brother.

Close friends too. The question I want to ask and viewers may want me

to ask, how she dealt with that, we know about her writing, how she

dealt with that overwhelming grove throughout her life? How did it

manifest itself? Primarily she felt that she was dedicated to recreating

the characters of the men she'd lost. That was one of the things

that drove her into writing. She wanted people to know what Roland,

Edward, Victor and Geoffrey were like. That made her feel that she

could give them a life back. They would become, in a limited sense,

immortal, if you know what I mean. That drove her and gave her the real

determination to finish the book, which she found hard to do. On the

other hand, there was something in her whole character that was always

buried in the fields of Flanders, something that never quite changed.

She never, I don't ever remember her laughing without any restraint. I

don't remember her having a sense of just unmitigated joy. She had a

sense of humour. She had a sense of pleasure, but you had the feeling it

was always balanced against this vast weight of what history had

given to her. That's what really drove her to become a great peace

maker in the world, the other side of the part that was saved by the

pursuit of the immortal and men she'd known. In all your research,

David, what was your experience of people dealing with grief, those who

survived, the families who lost people - what's your experience,

what did you come across in terms of the way that people sometimes

internalised what they hurt, the grief? I think there's a sea change

when the war comes to an end, where people feel the crisis has passed

and they can allow themselves to embrace their grief. What you see

over and over again is families facing the reality of the wounded,

of people whose minds are broken by the war and needing to put them

first. There's nothing that can be done for the dead other than

remembering them, as your mother did. But there was such a colossal

weight of men with broken bodies and damaged minds. They were the

preoccupation of many nations. How powerful a theme was that post-war

and the way that people tried to cope with injuries, psychological

injuries, that they'd not really had to talk about or dealt with before

that? The trouble was we still didn't know enough about them. I'm

not sure we treated them in the best way. We were learning. It was a slow

process. What the great losses of the war did was feed into a longing,

certainly in Britain and other countries for peace. I think that's

an important theme in the 1930s. People wanted to do almost anything

to avoid another war. Well, we've said it before, but of course, the

Great War is now beyond living memory. I think we mentioned Harry

Patch in the ceremony there in Belgium a short while ago, who died,

I think, six years ago. But the people who fought it have not been

forgotten, clearly. Tonight communities throughout the United

Kingdom are determined to recognise them in commemorations of their own

and since late July, people of Burnley have been laying crosses to

commemorate more than 4,000 men and women from the town it and

surrounding area who gave their lives in the war, many of the

crosses have been laid by local school children.

The children that were here today are from Holy Trinity Church

They have a church associated with their school called St Matthew's

They were given those particular names to research

Burnley at that time in 1914 was a network of terraced streets.

And within that community were churches with shops with schools.

The losses from those communities were felt even more because whole

streets of people went off to serve, streets of people who died.

The person on my cross was Leonard Mosely.

Leonard Mosely died because of a submarine.

He was on a ship called the Royal Edwards and he drowned.

I liked learning about the world war because I liked

learning about all the soldiers and listening to all the stories.

The people that I put down were Maurice Renwick and

I know about Alfred Victor Smith that he won the Victoria Cross medal

for jumping on a grenade to save the people around him.

I felt sad but a different feeling that I can't describe

because it was sad but he jumped on a grenade to save everyone else.

The last Burnley crosses will be laid at the cenotaph later

They will include the name of Private Harry Manders,

whose relatives Margaret, Ginette and Robie-Lea will be

We'll all be going up to Towneley Park at 11 o'clock at night

But Robie-Lea will be laying a cross for Harry Manders.

He's the youngest man to be killed in the war in Burnley.

He was in the war in 1916 and he was killed when he went out of the

He was about to get back in but he was shot in the back.

And he went in with three other 16 year olds.

He was killed, another was injured and the other had to go back

The soldiers were just like normal people and they gave their lives so

that we could have a better future and not be in a war, like they were.

children in Burnley, who have been playing their nart preparing for

today. Let's have a little more. I mentioned the fact there are events

everywhere. We want to catch up with Burnley tonight and join Tony

Livesey who's there. Thank you very much. We're here in

Burnley. We have seen Robie-Lea, she's with me now. What's it like to

be able to lay that cross tonight? I feel honoured to be able to lay a

cross down for somebody who died in Word War I and fought.

Your great-great-uncle did a marvellous thing. Lots of school

children will lay crosses tonight. Some people slightly older, in their

years, Katherine is here. Who are you remembering? My grandfather,

James and his brother, Thomas, who, Thomas was killed at Gallipoli. They

never found his body. My grandfather was killed... He gave his life in

the First World War. Here he is. There's a poignant story to James,

what happened? He got compassionate leave to go and see his baby son.

Unfortunately, he was killed before he saw him. He never saw Here is

him. A picture of his son. Also called, in honour of James. James,

yes. He was called James as well. He never saw him. You will lay two

crosses tonight. Ken, you have three crosses in your hand. What's your

story? My story is that my grandfather went to war with three

of his brothers and only my grandfather returned. The three

brothers were killed in different theatres of the war. There was

Thomas, who's buried in Malta. He was killed in Gallipoli. There was

Fred, who was honoured in Basra. He was killed in Egypt. There was John,

who was killed on the Somme and he's buried in France. How does it feel

for both of you to be here today honouring these men? I'm pleased

that I am here to do this. I wish my mother was here to see it, because

she would be thrilled. She gave my son the medals. He's now over in

Belgium celebrating, well, not celebrating, commemorating. There is

your mother in the picture What does there. Mean to you? It means a lot.

I want to remember it for my grandchildren and pass it on to

them, so that they don't forget. OK, there we are. The procession is due

to take place. The last 300 crosses will be lain down, followed by a

two-minutes silence and the lights will go out.

Tony, thank you very much. Many thanks to your guests for sharing

their experiences and bringing their photographs too. It was nice to hear

from them. Not just densely populated towns and cities that

suffered. Tiny villages, in remote areas, they bore their share of

losses too. And a way of life that had existed

for centuries would change forever. The Heligan estate

in Cornwall has been owned by the Tremayne family

for more than 400 years. Before the war Heligan enjoyed

a golden age. It was known

for its elegant gardens. More than 20 workers were employed

by the landowner Jack Tremayne. We're here

in Heligan's head gardener's office and it would be recognisable to

the men of that 1914 period. Sadly not many of Heligan's records

have survived from that era but we do have access to the Heligan labour

books which show that in April 1914 There would have been labourers,

there would have been carpenters, there would have been stone masons

amongst the men working here. This rural Edwardian

existence would be shattered He lived in the nearby village

of Gorran Haven with his wife Laura In 1917 he was called up to

the army. The next year Charles was wounded

and transferred to a war hospital Laura was in Cornwall

and obviously didn't know what was happening - she received

a telegram telling her about Charles's wounds, that's the first

thing she really knew about it. Charles wrote many letters to

his wife and daughter In the beginning he

used to write himself and then he was so ill the nurses

wrote for him. I think he used to It was mainly about his family,

his wife, his child But, within a few days,

Laura received a letter He wrote that Charles was feeble

but still thinking of his family. On the back there was

a hastily written postscript. I called again at the ward where

your husband was before mailing this

letter and I regret to have to I'm sure Laura would

have been absolutely devastated because she had hope he

was going to survive and then suddenly to be told he'd died would

be absolutely heartbreaking for her. Charles Ball

and several other Heligan workers The house at Heligan served

as a hospital during the war, after which Jack Tremayne returned

to his estate. Many of his garden team had perished

and it had a significant effect He said he couldn't live with

the ghosts of the place and he eventually emigrated to Italy

in 1923. He was the last Squire Tremayne

to live at Heligan, 91 years ago. Heligan fell into decline and

by the Second World War It was only in the 1990s that

they were rescued and restored. Heligan is now a tribute to

those long lost gardeners who Today the estate continues to employ

generations of local people, Toby is the great great grandson

of estate worker Charles Ball. It's funny how everything's

so connected - my great great grandfather worked here over

100 years ago, I'm sort of gardens. Yesterday at dawn people

living in villages, gathered around the war memorial and they read out

the names of those who'd lost their lives.

The lost men, Charles Ball, aged 42. Richard Billing, aged 38, William

Robins Guy, aged 22. John Charles Kirkin, aged 19. Names being read

out in Heligan there. The focus is the service at Westminster Abbey and

the gradual distinguishing of 2,000 candles. All over the country,

people are responding to the call for lights out, an invitation to

switch off the lights, to leave on maybe a single lamp to burn a candle

for a shared moment of reflection, later this evening, a chance to

reflect,if you like, upon the loss and the devastation, the brutality

and sacrifice of the First World War generation. In the words of the

Royal British Legion, a million cannedled for a million -- candles

for a million men. A sense of the activities taking place today, the

Derbyshire village of Brassington, the lights are going out across the

village, leaving just one light at the local church, St James' church.

Very famous, iconic building, Blackpool tower, the illuminations

have been switched off to mark the centenary there. That will tell

everyone in Blackpool and the surrounding area that this First

World War commemoration is happening. Not far from us here at

Westminster Abbey, along the Thames, lights to go out across Tower

Bridge, one of the most powerful symbols of London. This landmark,

the lights will out, apart from a few safety bulbs along the way, will

tell everyone, again, that the people of London, too, are thinking

of what happened a century ago. Folkestone, we mentioned it earlier,

because millions of troops went through Folkestone on their way to

the channel to cross over to France. Ceremony is being planned there,

which recognises its part in the story, the port, which was so

heavily used and Larry Lamb is there to tell us about what is going on.

I think Larry is there, but maybe we can't hear him. That's a shame

because Larry was going to tell us about the events in Folkestone,

where they've been looking at that new memorial arch, which was

unveiled a short while ago today by Prince Harry. Of course, that was

before Prince Harry went over to Belgium. Then they'll be having a

military march past, to retrace the steps of so many of those troops who

went through Folkestone 100 years ago. That's where we are. That's

Folkestone. If Larry pops up, we'll go back to him straight away. Guests

with me still in the studio, I'm glad to say, Shirley is still with

me and two special guests have joined us. We have Kristina

Reynolds, and we have David Taylor. You're here because you're the

granddaughter of private Percy Buck and David you're here as the

grandson of private William Taylor. I'm very pleased you joined us and

we've been chatting with Shirley a short while ago. You've brought in a

wonderful selection of things for us. I'll start with you to say, tell

me something about Private Percy Buck and the things you've brought

to share with us. Percy was in the 1st Battalion of the Hertfordshire

regiment, which was the TA. He was in there for many years, before war

was declared. He went to war, like so many did, he was killed in 1917

on the third battle of Ypres, which I think is now known as

Passchendaele. He was killed on the first day. He was shot in the side

and fell into a shell hole. He was too severely wounded to be moved and

I think about 24 hours or maybe longer after, another German unit

came along and one of the soldiers found him and found him clutching a

photograph of his wife and child and himself and he'd written his address

on the back saying whoever finds this could they return it back home.

You've brought the photo with you? We haven't got the photo at all. We

don't know what's happened to that. We assume, it's the section in the

middle of this photo. This is himself with his wife and baby. It

was a post card size. The German soldier sent it to the Red Cross.

They called it East Germany, which was Poland then, I think. He it

translated and sent it to Switzerland and then Switzerland

sent it back to my Nan so she knew he'd been killed. The news got

through and there we can see, there's the letter there.

Essentially, the letter did deliver the very sad news. Yes. You've kept

these and you treasure them clearly. Yes. I'm just wondering how much

work it's been for you to reconstruct the story or is it a

story that's come down through generations of the family? How are

you so familiar with it? My father told me the story many years ago

when he came across a box with some of these things in. He was quite sad

to find the photograph wasn't there, because he does remember seeing it

when he was younger, but it wasn't in his mother's things. But he still

had the letter and the death penny and everything. They obviously,

after he died, they were passed down to myself and my brother. When you

say death penny, explain very quickly what that is. This is the

death penny. This was handed out to all the families who had someone

killed in war. David, I'll bring you in. Tell us about your relative,

your an tore and the -- ancestor and the story. My grandfather, 100 years

ago tonight he was at the camp in the Chilterns, waiting to hear what

was rambling, then they went off to Suffolk and by 4th November, they

were in France. As a result of that, they were called old contemptibles.

He had the Mons star. He had a wallet which saved his life during

the battle of Passchendaele, which I've brought along. He kept the

wallet in his tunic breast pocket. Luckily that and the photos that

were inside it, took the impact of the shrapnel and saved his What a

life. Remarkable story. Yes, he was there at the beginning and he was

there at the end. Gosh, and in terms of, again, your family story, that

story being passed down, people relating it with pride. How much do

you know about him as a person? Well, he was my granddad. I didn't

really know him until he was in his 70s and 80s. He was a gardener by

profession. He was just a granddad. He loved his bowls. How much did he

talk about his wartime past? Not very much. They kept it to

themselves. Obviously, they'd seen some very horrible sights.

Personally, he had won his military medal by going out and rescuing a

comrade and that friendship stayed with him for the rest of their

lives. It's lovely of you both to come in and share your stories.

Interesting, Shirley, just to listen to individual stories, which

actually very different, but they convey lots of the emotion and power

of that time. And extraordinary aspects of history. Suddenly, you

realise that this memory has been passed down by these older relatives

to our two guests. That's a marvellous Thank you thing. Very

much for coming in. Lovely to see you. I should remind you, because

we're wanting to be underlining the fact that there are lots of

different ways for you to take part in tonight's events, the

commemorations. People all over the country preparing to reflect on the

start of the First World War. Westminster Abbey bathed in the

light of 2,000 candles before they are gradually extinguished during

the service that will begin shortly. You can join in at home, either by

lighting your own candle or if you prefer, a very different way of

joining in, you can download an app, it's a special app that's been

created for today, by the award-winning video artist Jeremy

Della. It's called "lights out". Access that, at 10pm, a flame will

appear and burn for just one hour, going out at exactly 11pm. You don't

need to have a proper candle, you can actually do it digitally as

well, just to show that there are different ways of taking part. So

we're about half an hour from the beginning of the service in

Westminster Abbey. Anyone who's visited the abbey will know straight

away as you walk through the great West Door behind us, the first thing

you see is the grave of the st un Grave of the Unknown Warrior, the

focus of tonight's vigil. The grave placed there as a response to the

unprecedented loss of life in the First World War.

Over a million British and Commonwealth soldiers died

And almost half of those are missing, lost far

The First World War obliterated men in a way that is almost

The battlefields remained battlefields for weeks,

months or even years, making it very difficult for their comrades to

The burial parties clearing the battle grounds took

the identification of their dead seriously.

It was horrible to have to gather the bodies,

but what was far worse was dying in a foreign place without

It was painful too for those waiting at home.

One in every six British families suffered a direct bereavement

All over the country those who did not know how their loved ones had

died set up makeshift shrines as a focus for their grief.

An army chaplain on the Western Front,

the Reverend David Railton, had an idea when he saw a cross marking

He realised those who had lost their loved ones could be given

It gave him an idea that was simple, very daring, almost

outrageous, which was to bring back the body of a British warrior, to

bury him in Westminster Abbey among Kings, among Queens, to give him a

funeral that was worthy of the greatest in the land.

Railton convinced the authorities of his plan.

They chose an unknown British serviceman from four unidentified

The Unknown Warrior was then transported with full military

When this Unknown Warrior made his final journey in the train from

Dover to Victoria his carriage was painted white on the roof so that

the crowds who were lining the railway cuttings

as he approached could see by the light of the moon the carriage that

contained, maybe, their father, their husband, their loved one.

On 11th November 1920 the Unknown Warrior was drawn

The King placed a wreath of red roses on the coffin before it

moved onto Westminster Abbey, where it was buried in the nave.

Even after half a -- a century, it is still a source of comfort to

those that have lost loved ones in wars. He an ordinary servicemen,

buried among poets and kings. His name is presence reflects all that

is fleeting, in mortal and extraordinary about the human

spirit. The idea that came from the reverend

is a very powerful one. His grandson joins me now, along with Juliet

Nicolson. There is a sense ever a presence of

your grandfather in the abbey today. Yes, there is. His flag still hangs

here, not far from the grave. That was the flag that he used throughout

the war. Either for barials or services, served as a make shift

altar cloth or used for parades or social occasions, either for

concerts or boxing matches. It's very fitting that it is here in the

Abbey. It was dedicated in 1921 in perpetual memory of the fallen. It

hangs very proudly over the grave. You must be very proud of his role.

Oh, indeed, very much so. Juliet, just give us a sense of the

emotional power and significance of the grave, for people to come and

visit when perhaps they have no grave to go to. Exact ly, two years

after the war ended, there had been no repatriation, there were half a

million men either missing or unidentified. So there were hundreds

of thousands of families who were grieving but without a funeral and

without a grave to go to. This one man, who arrived here in this

beautiful Abbey, with the simplicity of his webbing belt and his helmet

on the top of the coffin, nothing grand, nothing to do with Nelson on

top of a column, just a humble, young, unidentified man, so we

assume, to whom people could bring flowers, to whom children who had

lost their fathers could imagine that this was, as one little boy was

heard to do, this is a beautiful garden, they've made for my father.

So it's had an enduring significance, I think, the grave of

the unknown soldier, thanks to David's extraordinarily amazing

grandfather, even the Royal Family, when they come here, when the

monarch comes to be crowned, he or she side steps that grave, no other

grave in the Abbey, but the Unknown Warrior is given the special dignity

above no And the other. Focus of the service tonight. Thank you both.

It is fast filling up. Nearly 2,000 invited people here, very much the

living. It's one of the features of Westminster Abbey that the living

can walk anywhere they like over the memorial stones of the greatest

names in British history, the one place they cannot walk is over the

Grave of the Unknown Warrior, protected tonight by flowers of the

Four Nations and those are the flowers from gardens of Britain and

sown amongst them seeds of poppies, which are reserved for the Armistice

Day. We shall be at the tomb at the end of the service. In this

evening's service at Westminster Abbey, David Morrisey will read the

poment 1914 by will Fred Owen who is commemorated in Poets' Corner. Out

of a war of such brutality that killed millions came art, literature

and music of enduring elegance and beauty. The poet has been looking at

the life of Wilfred Owen and how one of the great voices of the war

emerged from the experience of the Western Front.

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

What I find fascinating is because of his experiences on the Western

front he was trying to find a new way to write about the war, forging

a new language. Most of the poems he was known for were written in a 15

month period, far away from the battlefields of France.

Wilfred Owen was born in 1893 in Shropshire.

From a very young age he always knew he wanted to be a poet.

When war came he joined as an officer in 1915 and was quickly

He was tasked with guarding a dugout under continuous heavy fire

It was an utterly harrowing experience.

Owen saw his men dying, being drowned,

In January 1917 he wrote to his mother.

My own sweet mother, I can see no excuse

for deceiving you about these last four days.

I have not been at the Front, I have been in front

The ground was not mud, not sloppy mud, but an octopus of

sucking clay, three, four, and five feet deep relieved only

Men have been known to drown in them.

In the letters Owen wrote from the front to his mother we can

see many of the subjects that would later become important in his poems.

This need to tell the unvarnished truth, a kind of survivors report

if you like, and also a growing affection

In April 1917 Owen was blown in the air by a shell at Savy Wood.

The explosion killed a fellow officer and Owen spent several

This horrific experience left him with shell shock.

He was given leave for six months and sent to Edinburgh to recover

Dr Guy Cuthbertson is an expert on Wilfred Owen.

He believes Owen's time at Craiglockhart was vital to

Why was Craiglockhart so important for Owen?

The men had caring and understanding staff treating them,

lucky to be there rather than in some other hospitals at the time.

Here he got to mix with posh, educated people,

a different kind of feel for him from his own schooldays.

At Craiglockhart Owen met influential artists like

His talent blossomed and he went on to write most of his greatest

poems here such as Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce et Decorum Est.

By June 1918 Owen was passed fit for service.

Owen's friends implored him to remain at home, Sassoon even

threatened to stab him in the leg to prevent him from going back,

His time at Craiglockhart had made him realise that the war needed him

He needed to go back to bear witness to the suffering his companions had

gone through, the horror, the terror, the awfulness of war.

But the war that had forged Owen was ultimately to destroy him.

On November 4th, 1918 Wilfred Owen was shot and killed, just seven

The unflinching realism and the beauty of the poetry he left behind

have made Owen one of the greatest voices of the First World War.

In a draft preface to a book of poems that was never to

be published in his lifetime, Owen wrote, "Above all I am not

My subject is War, and the pity of War.

the Abbey along with actress Rachel Stirling who is taking part in the

service which starts in a few moments' time. David, it really is a

very, very poignant poem, 1914, about going into darkness. It is.

Also at the beginning of the war, for him, many of his poments with

famous towards the end of the war and the atrocities during the war.

But this poem, given its title 1914 is right at the beginning of the

war. I didn't know it actually, funny enough. It's such a privilege

to be reading it tonight in this amazing setting as well. So, I feel

a bit nervous, actually! We all are. We had a rehearsal today and felt

fine about it. Coming in and seeing everybody come in and you know, what

it means and people in their uniform for some reason, that also sets the

tone in a different way. It's a great privilege for all of us. Is

that how you feel? Yes, what's so extraordinary about this service is

it commemorates a moment with naivety we went into war, the young

boys signing up didn't know what they were in for, the world didn't

know what they were about to endure. And I think it's pitched perfectly,

a commemoration of that naivety actually. There's something

profoundly moving about the First World War, I find, because we just

didn't know about the ramifications of this sort of battle. So to be

here today is a great privilege. And for us all to reflect as well. Thank

you very much for being here and up better get off because the service

is starting shortly. Thank you both. Thanks to Sian and the guests. A few

minutes to go and Shirley Williams is still with me. We have the best

view in the house. That's why I'm here, It's nice wonderful. To have

your company. Before the service, I want to share with you one thing.

You mentioned, we were talking about your mother, and her remarkable

legacy. You revealed to me there is actually a very modern link with

today's Germany. There is very pleasingly. Last month, I got

invited with my best friend Helga, a German Jewish descent and came as a

refugee to Britain in 1939. We've been friends since we were at

university together. The city of Hamburg, which was the one which was

most devastated by British and American raids in 1943 and 44,

almost destroyed, invited me to agree that my mother could be the

person after whom they named the new embankment along the canal in the

middle of Hamburg. We had a wonderful ceremony. The minister of

culture and the local councillor for the area turned up and we stood

there and watching the naming of the Hamburg embankment and it was a

marvellous moment because my mother would most have longed for

reconciliation between the two enemy nations both of which she cared for

very much. It's called? The Vera Britten bank. Glad we were able to

share it. Thanks very much. A century on from the start of one of

the bloodiest conflicts in the history of the world, there is

no-one left alive in the United Kingdom who fought through those

years. Thanks to the work of the imperial war muse zeal, the thoughts

and -- Imperial War Museum, the thoughts of those men have been

preserved. As people come together and prepare to reflect on the

immense sacrifice of the Great War generation, let the last words be

theirs. ( On the 3 rd, August 19 #14, mobilisation orders came out.

We were all very excited. Most of us wanted to be out in France before

the war was over by Christmas. It was a great thing, said by the

papers, it would be over by Christmas. I wasn't excited. I was

apprehensive. I didn't believe the war was going to be over by

Christmas. I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be all together

quick. Joo-Ho over the top we go. As soon

as we get over the top, the fear has left you. It's terror. You don't

look. You see. You don't hear. You listen. Your nose is filled with

fumes and death. Your weapon and you are one. The veneer of civilisation

has dropped away. Here we were a gang of boys and all the time

Kuwazuru saying to -- and all the time, one was saying to oneself, "If

they can take it, I can." Then a shell is on top of you and you break

completely. Even the rats became hysterical. They came to seek refuge

from this terrific artillery fire. And then, the British Army went over

the top. What was it that we soldiers went for each other like

mad dogs, to fire at each other from a distance, to drop bombs is

something impersonal, but to see each other's white in the eyes and

then to run with the bayonet against a man, it was against my conception

and against my inner feeling. And there was mud, mud everywhere. Every

shell hole was a sea of filthy, oozing mud and the fatigue in that

mud was something terrible. When you haven't had sleep for several nights

and when you haven't had rest and sometimes hardly a meal, it did get

you. You reached a point where there was no beyond. As we withdrew over

the ground that had been captured that day, the sight was incredible.

It was just like a flock lying asleep in the field. Quite a number

of the men were still alive and they were crying out and begging for

water. One hefty chap grabbed me round both legs and held me. In the

years that have passed, that man's pleadings have haunted me. Yes, it

was a dreadful experience, there's no doubt about that. Still those of

us survived think ourselves jolly lucky. The voices of yesterday, and

those voices echoing really throughout Westminster Abbey

tonight. The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, among the congregation.

Everyone with a candle. There will be 2,000 candles lit in the Abbey.

Gradually, those candles will be extinguished during the service

until there's just one candle left at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.

The Duchess of Cornwall will be responsible for extinguishing that

last candle. Other venues sharing in this solemn experience, there we

have lights going out across Tower Bridge in London. And they'll just

leave the safety lights across the public walkways. A dramatic gesture.

Then if we look at Burnley, locals gathering at the war memorial after

a candle lit procession there. Lights going out right across

Burnley town. Derbyshire, Brassington. They're switching every

light off there, leaving just one candle burning. That's at St James'

church. Let's go to Wales, to Cardiff.

That's unmistakably Landaff cathedral. Special service there to

mark the centenary that we are remembering. To Downing Street, all

lights switched off on this anniversary. Leaving a single candle

burning there at the door of Number Ten.

To Northern Ireland, a special art installation at the City Hall by Bob

and Roberta Smith. Then down to Kent, Folkestone, where we've been

already tonight, torch-lit parade making its way to the war memorial

and they're passing that new memorial arch, which was dedicated

earlier today by Prince Harry. That's Folkestone. Now, let's look

at Westminster. Because this has been a bit of a closely guarded

secret. A light installation calls Spectra, illuminated at Victoria

tower gardens, next to the House of Lords, to mark this centenary, a

tower of intense white light to reach 15 kilometres into the night

sky. It will shine for the next week, a very dramatic new addition

to the London skyline. Glasgow Cathedral, we saw the service in

honour of the Commonwealth at the Glasgow Cathedral this morning and

tonight, people gathering there for their special vigil service. The

single candle burning there. To Blackpool, we saw the tower earlier.

The lights going out on Blackpool tower. Such a powerful symbol of the

respect and the reverence and the remembrance that today is all about.

Back here, just a few yards from Westminster Abbey, the Houses of

Parliament, one of the great, iconic buildings of the world, lights being

switched off across the Palace of Westminster and there we have the

lights going off on the everyoning bankment and the terrace of the

House of Commons and House of Lords, we can just make out the great face

of Big Ben. A wonderful series of very powerful tributes as the lights

go out across the United Kingdom. We look forward to this special

vigil and service at Westminster Abbey itself. It's due to begin and

Eddie Butler is there for us. Westminster Abbey, externally

illuminated and internally too. But the theme tonight is light going

out, we are one hour and five minutes away from the hour of 11pm.

1pm on August 4th, 1914, Britain went to war. The Abbey seems such a

safe haven, but even it was touched by the First World War. A bomb fell

on the newly-built choir school next door. It buried itself eight feet in

the ground and didn't explode. 12 servants of the Abbey, including

eight former choristers went off to war and didn't come home.

Representing Her Majesty, the Queen tonight, Her Royal Highness the

Duchess of Cornwall, just arriving outside the Abbey to be greeted by

the Dean of Westminster. Dr John Hall, who will lead tonight's

service. Her Royal Highness has a history, a

family history, of tragedy in the war. Three of her great uncles,

Alec, Henry and Hugh were all killed in the space of 18 months in the

war. The Dean of Westminster will present the Duchess of Cornwall to

the four bishops who are here tonight. The right rerchd Nigel

Muculloch. -- Right Reverend. Richard Charters, bishop of London.

The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols. And

finally, representing the eadvantage list -- Evangelist church, who will

give a prayer in German later in the evening.

The Duchess holding her candle. 2,000 candles are now lit. They will

go out in sections and the last to go out will be the single candle

there, by the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.

The choir of Westminster Abbey and the collegiate procession makes its

way down the knave. The choir consists of 12 men known

as Labour goers and 22 choirboys. -- lay vicars.

Carrying the cross of lights, James Grosse, who was speaking earlier.

# Plenteous grace with thee is found

Welcome to Westminster Abbey, this House of God,

the place of burial, amongst the graves and memorials of Kings and

Queens of this Kingdom and many of its greatest men and women, of an

The Grave reminds us of the meaning of war but our focus

In solemnly commemorating the centenary of the outbreak

of the First World War, as we reflect on the failure of the human

spirit that led to an inexorable slide to war, may we spend

# Kyrie eleison # Christe eleison

# Kyrie eleison # Lord, have mercy

# Kyrie eleison # Christe eleison

Longing for the renewal of creation, and seeking the peace of

God's kingdon, we are bold to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever.

Sir Hugh Strong now presents his reflection on the world. Cedric Gray

was Foreign Secretary for seven years, making him the longest ever

serving holder of that office. Today, we remember him for a single

sentence. One evening, during the last week before the outbreak of the

Great War, or so the editor of the Westminster Gazette reminded him, he

looked out of the window and remarked, the lamps are going out

all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime. He

was a liberal, but his regret reveals an underlying conservatism.

He knew that war could be the midwife of resolution, a point

rightly recognised in Russia in 1914. He valued order, international

as well as domestic. He believed it rested on a common foundation. His

was for a continent, so it embraced Britain's enemies as well as

friends. Many of those living in Britain thought their society was on

the brink of fundamental change, even without war. Irish nationalism,

the strength of the trade unions and the demand for votes, not just for

women but for the many disenfranchised men were more

pressing than the international situation. On the 4th of August,

these ideas were trumped. They recognised it was a day to which the

word historic would apply. A decade later, he could not recall using the

sentence for which he has become so well-known. He concluded that he had

set it on the third, the day before Britain sent its ultimatum to

Britain, not on the fourth. His confusion captures the wider

uncertainty of the country as a whole. No longer fully at peace, not

yet at four. All work apprehensive. -- at war. Each for his or her

reason. Most were united by the invasion of algebra. All work united

by the realisation that their lives were likely never to be the same

again. They did not know how long the war would last or how many would

die. In this centenary, we must avoid condescension. The

condescension that comes from hindsight and the condescension that

says we would have acted differently. Our role is less to

judge than to understand. We have over four years in which to do that.

So evident are the memorials to the war, in our communities and on the

battlefields, that we can forget that they

battlefields, that we can forget that were not there in 1914. In

1914, our predecessors were embarking on a journey, in which

they would discover things about themselves and about the world which

100 years ago existed, if at all, only in their imaginations. 100

years on, we too are about to embark on a journey, not too much on a

journey of remembrance, not least because few among us have memory of

this war, but more a journey like theirs, a journey of discovery, a

journey which seeks to understand the past certainly, but also a

journey which helps us to understand our own world and its continuing

engagement with war. David Morrissey will read 1914 by

Wilfred Owen now. War broke: and now the Winter of the

world With perishing great darkness closes

in. Is over all the width of

Europe whirled, Rending the sails of progress.

Rent or furled Are all Art's ensigns. Verse wails.

Now begin Famines of thought and feeling.

Love's wine's thin. The grain of human Autumn rots, down

hurled. For after Spring had bloomed in

early Greece, And summer blazed her glory out with

Rome, An Autumn softly fell, a harvest

home, A slow grand age, and rich with all

increase. But now, for us, wild Winter, and

the need Of sowings for new Spring, and blood

for seed. Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound

the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants

of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near -

a day of darkness and gloom, Like blackness spread upon

the mountains a great and powerful army comes, their like has never

been from of old, nor will be again Fire devours in front of them,

and behind them a flame burns. Before them the land is

like the garden of Eden, but after them a desolate wilderness

and nothing escapes them. Yet even now, says the Lord,

return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping,

and with mourning, rend Return to the Lord, your God, for he

is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast

love, and relents from punishing. # qui per crucem et sanguinem

redemisti nos # auxiliare nobis te deprecamur

Deus noster # who by the Cross and the Blood

have redeemed us I must write you one more line

dearest to say Goodbye before we go, as God knows

when I shall see you again. I am so awfully glad we are going -

it is what we have been waiting for I think there is not much doubt

that we are really going: we were served out with

our rifles this afternoon and we believe that we shall be

at Southampton tomorrow night. So now dear it is goodbye and may

we meet again if God wills. You know that if I am allowed to

come back I shall feel exactly the same to you as I do now and

shall be ready for you whenever you can come to me, and you know that I

shall come straight to you and ask We are all fairly shouting with joy

at going and I dare say we shall soon be cursing the day

and then when we get back we shall Goodbye darling,

may God bless and keep you. He did survive the war with severe

facial injuries and he did marry his girlfriend, Joy.

whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son,

govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,

and bring the families of the nations,

divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,

to be subject to his just and gentle rule;

who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

The first symbolic candle will now be distinguished. With that out goes

a whole section of candles. Rachel Stirling.

Snow is a strange white word. No ice or frost

Has asked of bud or bird For Winter's cost.

Yet ice and frost and snow From earth to sky

This Summer land doth know. No man knows why.

In all men's hearts it is. Some spirit old

Hath turned with malign kiss Our lives to mould.

Red fangs have torn His face. God's blood is shed.

He mourns from His lone place His children dead.

O! Ancient crimson curse! Corrode, consume.

Give back this universe Its pristine bloom.

In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established

as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills;

Many peoples shall come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain

of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his

ways and that we may walk in his paths."

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word

He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate

for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up

sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

The reading by the British Army chief of the general staff between

2006 and 2009. # Nor the offences of

our forefathers # Neither take thou vengeance of our

sins # Spare thy people, whom

thou hast redeemed The exciting part

of the day was now to begin. I walked into the fine church

and to my delight, Vespers was being The atmosphere was so moving

and restful that I took out my own Office book and said evensong; then

went on to another half hour of prayer, not forgetting the war,

but forgetting how close it was. And then in the distance over

the flat country, a continuous I remembered and looked at my

watch-5.30-the time for the Attack. The contrast between Church

and this! Little puffs of smoke hung

about the poplars on the horizon. I knew that soon at a given moment,

in broad sunny daylight as it was, the thin line of some battalion as

nice as my own, would spring over Sixhorsed ammunition wagons

dashed past me-it was a wonder to And as if to encourage all folk

within sound of the battle, a bagpipe band of some Cameron

regiment pranced up and down the road never a bit drowned by the

guns, but shrieking out a sort of P- and B- were sitting at the

window looking towards the sounds. I joined them, and we sat there

for an hour and a half saying little, only picturing the state of

those dread acres now, wondering how the attack had fared, noting subtle

transitions now and then, the imposing rattle

of rifle fire all along the line now battling down even the big guns;

great salvoes of the latter now To-morrow I shall see some

of the result, as I bend over the dying and bloodstained men who

will have by then been brought in. Eternal God, from whom all thoughts

of truth and peace proceed: kindle, we pray, in the hearts

of all, the true love of peace, and guide with your pure and peaceable

wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth, that

in tranquillity your kingdom may go forward, 'til the earth is filled

with the knowledge of your love; Baroness Warsi will extinguish the

second candle. In poets corner dame Penelope Keith

will read Many Sisters to Many Brothers.

When we fought campaigns (in the long Christmas rains)

With soldiers spread in troops on the floor,

I shot as straight as you, my losses were as few,

And when in naval battle, amid cannon's rattle,

My cruisers were as trim, my battleships as grim,

Or, when it rained too long, and the strength of the strong

Surged up and broke a way with blows,

I was as fit and keen, my fists hit as black eye matched

Was there a scrap or ploy in which you, the boy,

Could better me? You could not climb higher,

Ride straighter, run as quick (and to smoke made you sick)

...But I sit here, and you're under fire.

Oh, it's you that have the luck, out there in blood and muck:

You were born beneath a kindly star;

All we dreamt, I and you, you can really go and do,

In a trench you are sitting, while I am knitting

A hopeless sock that never gets done.

Well, here's luck, my dear; - and you've got it, no fear;

How lonely sits the city that once was full of people!

How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations!

She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal.

She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks;

among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have

dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.

Judah has gone into exile with suffering and hard

servitude; she lives now among the nations, and finds no resting place;

her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

From daughter Zion has departed all Her Majesty.

Jerusalem remembers, in the days of her affliction and

wandering, all the precious things that were hers in days of old.

no one to help her, the foe looked on mocking over her downfall.

# Drop drop slow tears and bathe those beauteous feet

# which brought from heaven the news and Prince of peace

# Cease not wet eyes his mercies to entreat

# to cry for vengeance sin doth never cease

# In your deep flood drown all my faults and fears

# nor let his eye see sin but through my tears.

You are nine months old, my little son, when I begin this Diary.

We are parted at present, at what cost to the joy of the

You are too young to understand...

But there is one solemn reason that makes me start my diary tonight.

Grave rumours of a possible terrible conflict of Nations are on

everybody's lips, and have been gathering for some days past.

If indeed the dread that is in all our hearts is justified

by future events, my little boy will have some idea

Therefore, my baby, whose dimpled hands, however eager,

cannot yet grasp a weapon for the honour of your country,

we must wait and see what the next fateful days bring forth.

All was quiet at Paddington...

But after the departure of the train...

numbers of weeping women to file down towards the exits,

accompanied some by a small son or an old man trying to console them.

For the first time I realise what these scenes mean that are going

on round London in every station and all day.

All the reservists are being called up.

Every hour makes the situation more thrilling.

I grudge every moment spent indoors, out of sight of the fresh crop

of news posters that seem to spring up continually.

London seems to be all turned into streets, which are seething

My baby, if ever you read your Mother's diary in years to come

you will probably be bored by the details I give of the

A few years hence it will not matter a jot where the armies happened to

All that will matter to you some day is the result

of the terrible suspense we grown-ups are now going through.

Lord God, you hold both heaven and earth in a single peace.

Let the design of your great love shine on the waste of our wraths

and sorrow, and give peace to your Church, peace among nations, peace

in our homes, and peace in our hearts; in Jesus Christ our Lord.

The extinguishing of the third candle by Major-General Edward Smith

Osborne, general officer commanding London district.

And Mark Gatis reads the poem The Messages.

I cannot quite remember... There were five

Dropt dead beside me in the trench-and three

Whispered their dying messages to me...

Back from the trenches, more dead than alive,

Stone-deaf and dazed, and with a broken knee,

He hobbled slowly, muttering vacantly:

I cannot quite remember... There were five

Dropt dead beside me in the trench, and three

Their friends are waiting, wondering how they thrive -

Waiting a word in silence patiently...

But what they said, or who their friends may be

I cannot quite remember... There were five

Dropt dead beside me in the trench-and three

Whispered their dying messages to me...

For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness",

who has shone in our hearts to give the light

of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars,

so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not

driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not

destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the

life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.

For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus'

sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.

Sir Nicholas Young the chief executive of the British Red Cross.

Now the choir sings some Bach and in German.

Sebastian Faulks reading an extract from his novel Birdsong.

There is always someone sleeping, someone strolling.

Men come out from England like emsears from an unknown land. I

cannot picture what it means to be at peace. I do not know how people

there can lead a life. The only things that sometimes jolt us back

from this transare memories of men in the set of eyes of some

conscripted boy, I see a look of Douglas and I find myself rigid with

imagining. I can see that man's skull open up as he bent down to his

friend that summer morning. We are not contemptuous of gunfire, but we

have lost the power to be afraid, shells will fall on the reserve

lines and we will not stop talking. A boy lay without legs where the men

took their tea from the cooker. They stepped over him. I have tried to

resist the slide into this unreal world, but I lack the strength. I am

tired. Now, I am tired in my soul. Many times I have lain down and I

have longed for death. I feel unworthy, death will not come and I

am cast adrift in a perpetual present. I do not know what I have

done to live in this existence. I do not know what any of us did to tilt

the world into this unnatural orbit. We came here only for a few months.

No child or future generation will ever know what this was like. They

will never understand. When it is over, we will go quietly among the

living and we will not tell them. We will talk and sleep and go about our

business like human beings. We will seal what we have seen in the

silence of our hearts and no words will reach us.

Herr unser Gott, taglich erleben wir bis heute Hass

Wir bitten um Frieden und Versohnung der Volker, um den Willen zur

Verstandigung, wo Konflikte Menschen verbittern, und um Aussohnung,

Dies bitten wir durch Jesus Christus, unseren Herrn.

Nick Clegg will extinguish the last of the symbolic candles and the

fourth section goes out. Jennifer Pike will now play The Lark

Ascending. Writ ten in 1914, before the

outbreak of war. The exultation of larks, soaring over Britain about to

be left behind. The composer himself joined newspaper 1914. -- joined up

in 1914. He served in the royal medical corps and then in the royal

garrison artillery served at the second battle of the Somme in 1918.

Four guardsmen have now placed themselves around the Grave of the

Unknown Warrior and Darren Thomas of the Scots Guards, Stephen Walsh of

the Irish Guards, Adam Reece of the Welsh Guards. One guard from each of

the Four Nations. And the procession now makes its way towards the tomb.

Jesus said, "Now my soul is troubled.

And what should I say-'Father, save me from this hour?'

No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.

Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it,

The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder.

Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."

Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.

Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth,

He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer.

Walk while you have the light, so that

Now a special composition by David Matthews.

# Oh to whom shall a song of battle be chanted

# Not to our lord of the hosts on his ancient throne

# Drowsing the ages out in Heaven alone

# The celestial choirs are mute the angels have fled

# Word is gone forth abroad that our lord is dead

# Is it nothing to you all you that pass by

# Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow.

# Oh to whom shall a song of battle be chanted

# If you had only recognised on this day the things that make for peace

# But now they are hidden from your eyes

# Oh to whom shall a song of battle be chanted

Eternal Father, the darkness is no darkness to you,

and the night is as clear as the day.

Accompany and protect us as we enter the night; give us eyes that watch

for the dawn and hearts to learn again the lessons of love,

that reconciled to one another and to you we may walk through this

world's perils and sorrows as children of light;

Amen. One, last, small candle to be skinning wished by the Duchess of

Cornwall. 11pm on the night of August 4, 1914,

Britain was at war and yet, the darkness was not complete, is not

total. The Pascal candle will remain lit for the next four and a quarter

years, hope that cannot be skinning wished, the flame that will not die.

What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

All things came into being through him, and without

What has come into being in him was life, and the life was

The light shines in the darkness, and

The triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil. Westminster Abbey

falls into darkness tonight, just after 11pm, a century ago, Britain

had declared war on Germany. It was the start of the First World War.

Darkness inside the abbey and outside too.

Very powerful symbol of what we've been talking about all day. Shirley

Williams still with me. A very moving service and some very

powerful contributions. As we went through this long day, I became

conscious of millions of ghosts who are mourning with us. The ghosts of

all those who lost their lives in that war and in wars subsequently.

The other thing, as we came towards the end of the programme and saw the

indications of some kind of peace and vision for the future, I also

remembered the words of one of the poets we have not quoted so far. "We

must love one and other, or die." Nice to have had you with us Shirley

Williams today. Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with

us. Thank you very much. That brings to an end our day-long commemoration

of the outbreak of the First World War, a century ago tonight. We

started in Glasgow w a tribute to Commonwealth forces. We were in

Belgium earlier this evening for an event which included British and

German voices. Tonight, at Westminster Abbey, a candle-lit

vigil to mark the hour when war was declared. A four-year conflict, as

many as 20 million lives lost and it is our duty to remember. From all of

the BBC team, thank you for watching and good night.